Dedicated to Ending Law Enforcement and Detention Officer Misconduct

Arrest and Detention: News and Publications

On August 30th, 2017, a McKinleyville federal jury returned a $2.5 million verdict against Humboldt County for the death of Daren Borges, whose right to adequate medical care was held to be violated by three correctional officers who failed to have him medically evaluated despite the apparent and well-documented extremity of his methamphetamine intoxication, self-harming behavior and known history of schizophrenia.

"'Unjust: LGBTQ Youth Incarcerated in the Juvenile Justice System'" examines how LGBTQ youth who are incarcerated in juvenile detention and correctional facilities face bias in adjudication, and mistreatment and abuse in confinement facilities. LGBTQ youth also lack supportive services when leaving the criminal and juvenile justice systems, often forcing them back into negative interactions with law enforcement.

Given that nearly 40% of incarcerated girls in identify as LGB and 85-90% of incarcerated LGBTQ youth are youth of color, it is crucial that any effort to change the way youth in the United States engage with the juvenile justice system must consider the unique experiences of LGBTQ youth. This spotlight report highlights the experiences of LGBTQ youth incarcerated in the juvenile justice system."

"In professions where adults are in regular contact with children–such as health care, education, and day care—the state is heavily involved in setting and enforcing clear standards. Law enforcement officers are the gatekeepers for the justice system. They determine who is arrested, who is not, and who enters into the juvenile justice system and these decisions can dramatically and permanently alter a youth’s educational and professional opportunities. Given the magnitude and long-term impact of encounters between youth and law enforcement, there is no reason why law enforcement agencies and officers are not subject to the same levels of accountability, training and guidance."

On May 22nd, 2017, the City Council of Arlington, Texas approved a settlement in the amount of $850,000 to the family of Christian Taylor, who was 19 in 2015 when he was shot and killed by a police officer investigating a vehicular burglary. A lawsuit was not filed, and Taylor's family worked with the city to negotiate a settlement for the shooting.

Shuay'b Greenaway, then 32, was painting his Hempstead residence's bathroom in 2010 when local officers came to his door following 911 calls from his family asking for help in convincing Greenaway to seek psychological help for his bipolar disorder. No violence or menacing behavior was alleged in the calls.

In April 2017, the California Department of Corrections agreed to stop an ongoing trial and provide $950,000 in settlement to an ex-prisoner who in 2012 was pepper sprayed during a cell extraction and then strapped naked to a gurney for 72 hours.

In March 2017, a San Diego federal court approved a settlement of $1 million for the family of a Tijuana teenager who died in federal custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in 2013 after being instructed by two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to drink liquid methamphetamine.

"The central purpose of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is to “give a remedy to parties deprived of constitutional rights, privileges and immunities by an Official’s abuse of his position.” Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 172 (1961). Petitioners’ proposed rule—that the reasonableness of Fourth Amendment seizures be evaluated without regard to any facts but those at the exact moment an officer applies force—flies in the face of this purpose, as well as the Court’s longstanding precedent. If adopted, this rule would prevent innocent parties injured or killed by police during a stop or arrest from presenting any evidence of the officers’ conduct leading up to the moment of violence, even if that earlier conduct was a violation of well-established constitutional law. This Court should reject the Petitioners’ reductionist, outcome-oriented approach, and affirm that Section 1983 Fourth Amendment claims are to be evaluated under the totality of the circumstances, using ordinary principles of proximate cause."

In February, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of Phillip Turner in Turner v. Driver. Turner was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car after refusing to identify himself when approached by police officers. The officers had approached him because he was video recording a Fort Worth police station from a public sidewalk.